The Art of Dating
by scriptblossom
Summary: When Inojin skips out on training practice, Shikadai and ChouChou decide to follow Inojin around only to find out that Inojin is trying to woo Sarada.
1. The Art of Concealment

**The Art of Dating  
**by Diana-san

**Author's Note: **Re-posting this from my tumblr for fayeharuno-uchiha! A short series written in answer to prompt requests I received for a next-generation Ino-Shika-Chou/InoSara pairing.

* * *

**01\. The Art of Concealment**

Shikadai sighed as he stared at the clouds in the sky. It was a serene afternoon as he laid down on the grassy fields. He could easily fall asleep right then and there if it weren't for the girl peering down at him.

"What is it?" he sighed as he addressed his female teammate, ChouChou.

"I can't believe I skipped a dango date with Anko to train with you guys and the one person who suggested this practice isn't even here!" she huffed out in annoyance. She crossed her arms as she plopped down on the grass next to Shikadai.

"You would never turn down an invitation to go eat."

"Fine, so we pushed it back to after dinner," ChouChou grumbled. "But where is he? Inojin never misses practice. He is the only one who likes to train."

Shikadai sat up. It wasn't really a big concern of where Inojin was and it would be really troublesome to follow through on it, but he was sure he saw Inojin by the playground an hour ago. He sighed. He guessed he could suggest checking at the playground to find Inojin but that would require getting up and walking over…

"He might still be at the playground still," he told ChouChou.

"Still? What is he doing there to begin with?"

"I don't know. He's been acting weird lately. I thought it was just him going through puberty or something," he responded.

ChouChou wrinkled her nose. "Ugh, you boys and your lack of maturity during these stages. Well, let's drag him back over here so I can at least get enough practice down to tell my mom that I actually did train today."

He sighed but reluctantly followed ChouChou out of the training grounds and towards the playground.

"Hey, he's just sitting there," ChouChou pointed out as the two of them reached the edge of the playground and stood at the south entrance.

"He looks like he's drawing," Shikadai observed.

"Oh look, Sarada is babysitting Himawari," ChouChou commented. "Oh wait, they're leaving now."

"Inojin is getting up. Where is he going?"

The two of them glanced at each other as they watched Inojin follow Sarada and Himawari out of the playground through the exit on the north side.

"So what do we do?" ChouChou asked. "Should we follow them?"

Shikadai shook his head. "No, that's too much of a hassle. Let's just call it a day and go home."

ChouChou ignored him as she pulled on his arm. "C'mon, let's see what Inojin is up to. It must be good if he missed practice."

Shikadai grumbled under his breath but he allowed ChouChou to lead him through the playground to follow their third teammate to wherever he was going. They ended up walking to Boruto's house as they watched Inojin watching Sarada drop off Himawari.

"Why are we hiding?" Shikadai asked as he blatantly stood five feet away from the pole so that he was in view of the whole street.

"You mean why are you standing so far out so that the whole world can see you," ChouChou hissed as she pulled him back to place him behind her. "Besides, Inojin is hiding as well from Sarada for some odd reason."

"Inojin was always strange. I'll give him that. Let him do what he wants and let's just go home."

"No, we come too far."

"But what about your dango date?"

"Are you kidding me? If we find out something juicy from all this tailing, I might be able to hold this over Inojin for years. Think of all the food he can buy me to shut me up!" ChouChou's eyes glistened as she happily nodded to that idea in her mind.

"That's blackmail and extortion of your own teammate," Shikadai pointed out.

ChouChou rolled her eyes. "It'll only last a week. You know I can't keep secrets. Now c'mon, they're moving!"

The two of them continued tailing after the two and watched as Inojin stealthily followed behind Sarada.

"You would think they would notice us by now," Shikadai muttered.

"Love doesn't have peripheral vision. So stop your yapping and just follow behind me. This is even better than training," ChouChou grinned.

"This is probably not what my mother had in mind for me when she told me to practice the art of concealment," Shikadai muttered.

The two of them stopped as they hid behind a tree near the hospital. Sarada was stopped momentarily by the front of the hospital as she stared up at it in wonderment. She quickly turned to go to a bench nearby as she sat down and placed her bag beside her. She sighed as she glanced down at her bag with worry creasing the top of of her forehead.

"What's the matter?" a voice asked.

Sarada glanced up to see Inojin standing in front of her. "Inojin!" she said in surprise. She pushed up her glasses as the edge of it almost slipped past her nose. "What brings you here?"

"I..saw you on my way to get something for my mom," he murmured as he momentarily glanced away so that Sarada couldn't catch his obvious lie through the gaze of his eyes.

"Ah, I see. Same as me. Only I came to give something to my mama. I'm just not sure if I would be bothering her if I go in during her working hours," Sarada responded.

"What were you going to give her?" Inojin asked as he sat down beside Sarada on the bench.

Sarada removed a bento box from her bag as she set it down on her lap. "I brought her the bento box for dinner. She left it at home this morning and I was worried she wouldn't be able to eat if she realized it was missing. Mama always skip meals sometimes when she is overworked. That's why she packs lunch so she can eat in her office during her breaks."

"That's very kind of you," Inojin replied with a smile. "I'm sure your mother would be very happy to see you even if she is working now. It should be close to dinnertime."

"Ah, do you want to go together to find my mama then?" Sarada asked.

"Yes," he said with a bright smile as he got up and followed after Sarada.

"So what have you been doing all afternoon?" Sarada asked as the two of them reached the entrance of the hospital.

"Oh, you know, just training with ChouChou and Shikadai," he lied.

"Quite productive. I was babysitting Himawari all day by the playground since Boruto dumped his responsibilities on me and ran off to spy on his dad."

Inojin laughed. "He always does that, doesn't he?"

"Yeah, it was fine because Himawari and I got to bad-mouth him the whole day."

"Maybe, next time, I can help you watch her together," he said softly.

Sarada smiled. "I would like the company."

The two of them smiled at each other as they disappeared through the doors of the hospital.

Meanwhile, back by the tree, ChouChou's eyes widened as she grabbed onto Shikadai's collar and begun to shake furiously. "Inojin! Inojin has a crush on Sarada! Oh my gosh! This is gold. This is dynamite! This is worth a whole week's of dango!"

"You really think he would buy you one week's worth to shut your mouth?"

"I know so! That mama's boy is gonna be treating us two to dessert tomorrow!" she said with a grin.


	2. The Art of Blackmail

**The Art of Dating**  
by Diana-san

* * *

**02\. The Art of Blackmail**

"Inojin, you sly devil! So you missed practice yesterday to chase after Sarada, huh, didn't you?" ChouChou grinned as she ran up to Inojin. Shikadai sighed as he shook his head as if he wanted no part in this. The three kids were eating ramen at Ichiraku and ChouChou had instantly brought up the subject once they got their ramen bowls.

Inojin almost spat out the water he had been drinking just now. "H-how did you know?"

"We followed and stalked you for the entire afternoon instead of going home like we should have," Shikadai answered calmly as he blew on the strands of ramen hanging from his chopsticks.

"You didn't have to say it that way," ChouChou scolded. "Anyways, I was thinking, you can treat us both to dango today for skipping out yesterday and maybe you know, for us keeping your secret from Sarada."

Inojin stared at his teammate. "Are you blackmailing me?"

"Do you feel like you are being blackmailed?" ChouChou asked sweetly.

"Yes."

"Then yes. I am." ChouChou laughed out loud as she slurped her ramen.

"You're evil," Inojin commented.

ChouChou rolled her eyes. "Okay, how about three days of dango? Then I won't hold it over you anymore. In fact, I'll even help you. I can talk to Sarada and set up a date between the two of you."

Inojin glanced down at his bowl of ramen. "No, that would be too obvious."

"How about we pretend it's a double date?" ChouChou suggested as her eyes darted over to Shikadai.

Shikadai sensed her stare and looked up from his noodles. "Ha? You're not dragging me into this."

* * *

"I can't believe you dragged me into this," he muttered as he shoved his hands into his pockets. He followed behind ChouChou as she pulled Inojin and Sarada alongside her.

"So you guys, we can check out this new pastry shop in town. It'll be Inojin's treat," ChouChou said happily.

Inojin sighed as he nodded all the while shooting glances over at Sarada from behind ChouChou's back.

Sarada smiled and nodded. She was a bit surprised to hear that ChouChou wanted to go out as just the four of them. When ChouChou suggested a group outing, Sarada was surprised that it was just the Ino-Shika-Chou trio plus her. She suggested inviting Boruto and Lee Jr. in case they feel left out but ChouChou had insisted that it was a double date. So Sarada went along because she felt that it was her duty to help ChouChou in her attempts at love.

Sarada observed as ChouChou pulled Inojin along and she smiled as she watched the two interact. They arrived at the pastry shop and the sound of the wind chimes above the door rang as they entered.

"What do you like to eat, Sarada?" Inojin asked as he watched Sarada observe the display of pastries in front.

"Um, the red bean pastries are good. You?"

"Yeah, I like the chocolate-filled ones too."

Sarada smiled. "ChouChou likes those too," she commented as she glanced over at ChouChou who was now by the side displays.

"She likes all of them to be honest," Inojin replied dryly.

"When were you ever not honest?" Sarada shot back with a coy smile.

"Touche," Inojin said with a smile as he picked up a red bean pastry and placed it on Sarada's tray. "Since it's my treat, take as many as you like."

"You mean that?" ChouChou said as she popped up from behind with a grin. Inojin shot her a glare. "Not you," he said quietly through clenched teeth at ChouChou so that Sarada wouldn't hear. "We promised on one each for you and Shikadai!"

"She can have mine," Shikadai said as he picked up a bottle of water. "I'm just going to get this for myself. I don't want to extort you for your buns."

Inojin smiled. "A teammate I can rely on."

ChouChou rolled her eyes. "You say that but wait until he lazes around on our next training day."

The four of them rang up their purchases by the register and headed out. ChouChou munched happily on her chocolate-cream pastry as she eyed Inojin. "Well," she spoke up as she cleared her throat. "Shikadai and I forgot that we made plans with Anko today so we have to go now."

"Wait what?" Shikadai asked as he opened his bottle of water.

"Let's go water boy," ChouChou said as she pulled Shikadai along. "Inojin, you should walk Sarada home, since we can't. Hurry up Shikadai, we can't keep Anko waiting for us."

Sarada watched in a confused gaze as ChouChou and Shikadai went off in the other direction. She glanced at Inojin who merely shrugged with a small smile. "Do you want to go anywhere else before we head home?"

"Ah, perhaps the bookstore. I've been meaning to pick up a copy of the shinobi rules," she murmured as she bit into her pastry.

"You read a lot?"

"I suppose so. Mama always has a library full of books and I read through them from time to time."

They headed towards the bookstore and Sarada paid for her book and thanked the store owner who recognized her since her mama was a frequent visitor. As the two of them walked on home, Sarada glanced back at Inojin.

"Thank you for walking me home," she said.

"My pleasure."

Sarada hesitated in front of the walkway to her house. "It's not my business to say this but you should know that today was sort of like a double date."

Inojin's eyes widened as he swallowed down a gulp of air. Before he could say anything, Sarada continued to speak. "And you should know, that I think ChouChou really likes you so you should give her a chance."

Inojin couldn't believe where this conversation was going. "Um, I think we have a bit of a misunderstanding…"

"Couldn't you notice the signs? She was around us the entire day trying to talk to you." Sarada sighed. "Frankly, I'm a little disappointed that you didn't notice. As a shinobi, you should be more aware of these things."

Inojin coughed as he tried to stifle the laughter inside of him. The irony of the whole situation was killing him inside.

"I'm disappointed as well. Someone as smart as you with the Uchiha genes and the daughter of one of the most intelligent kunoichi in Konoha…to not know of someone's true feelings." Inojin smiled softly as he leaned in closer so that he was at eye level with Sarada.

"W-what? I'm wrong?" Sarada asked as she inched back.

"Very." With that said, he leaned in to kiss her softly on the cheek. He pulled away as he glanced at Sarada's shocked expression. He stuck his tongue out at her. "Baka," he said as he turned to leave. He stopped a few feet away from her as he looked back at her. "See you tomorrow?" he asked with a smile as he waved goodbye.

Sarada somehow managed to put up an arm to wave back as she gaped at him in surprise. "A-ah…" she replied weakly. She turned to run back inside her house as she ran into the living room where her mama was seated next to papa.

"Mama, boys are stupid!" she cried out.

Sakura glanced up from her nestled spot on Sasuke's shoulders. "Huh? What's wrong dear?"

Sasuke glanced up from the mission report he was reading. "Boys? What boy?" The tone in his voice wasn't at all too pleasing. He hardened his eyes at Sarada as he demanded for an explanation.

Sarada's face turned slightly red as she turned to head to her room upstairs. "Never mind," she muttered. She turned back with one look at her parents. "Mama!" she cried out from the top of the stairs.

Sakura chuckled as she got up from the couch. "Let me handle this, Sasuke-kun. You stay here."

"What? Why can't I be a part of this conversation?" Sasuke protested.

"Because dear. You'll break the boy's arms and then that will probably break our little girl's heart."

"Well, as long as you know," Sasuke grumbled. Sakura smiled as she left for upstairs to talk to her daughter. Sasuke took out a piece of paper from his pocket as he glanced down at the list of names written on there. "Boruto, Inojin, Shikadai, Lee Jr… who should I visit first tonight?"


	3. The Art of Parenting

**The Art of Dating**  
by Diana-san

* * *

**03\. The Art of Parenting**

"Sarada…"

Inojin tapped his finger against Sarada's forehead in an attempt to snap the girl out of her dazed expression. "You're doing it again."

"Oh! Sorry," she muttered as she broke her concentration away from the crowd of kids playing behind Inojin's left shoulder. She had, in fact, been doing her utmost best at avoiding eye contact with Inojin. The kiss from a few days ago had left her feeling awkward and shy each time she was around Inojin. She had been able to avoid seeing him since then but today, she was stuck correcting assignments with him since they were the top two students in the class.

She knew she should have failed her last exam. Darn her genes that made her an overachiever in all aspects of life.

Inojin smiled as he twirled the red pen in his hand. "What were you thinking about?" he asked.

"Nothing," she muttered. In fact, it wasn't nothing. She had been thinking a lot about him the past few days. From his stupid flirtatious smile to the ponytail he keeps neatly tied up each day. She wondered what he would look like if she stole his hairband. He would probably look really pretty. '_Ugh, stupid pretty boy,' _she thought to herself as she drew a big red circle over one of the problems on the paper she was grading.

"Sarada," Inojin repeated again in a soft lulling voice. She hated when he did that. It was almost hypnotic in the way that he said her name. This must be what her mama meant about when Papa called out Mama's name. Her mama always sighed at the retelling of the story about Papa. How Papa would just say "Sakura" and make her mama melt all in the inside and feel like a young girl again.

"Yes, Inojin?" she asked. She tried not to look up so that she didn't have to be drawn in by his deep gazes and warm smiles.

"Let's go on a date."

Sarada almost broke the tip of the pen she was using as she pressed down hard on the table with the pen so that the red ink bled through the paper and left a large blot of ink. She glanced up to check if Inojin was just making a joke or just testing her reaction. When he just continued smiling back at her, she knew this wasn't a joke. When did he get so bold and brazen? Sarada wanted to know what was placed in his food the past week. It sure wasn't the same food she had been eating.

He stood up as he neatly organized the papers in his hand and placed it on top of Sarada's finished pile. "I'm done with my pile so I will get going now. But tomorrow, let's go out after school?" He smiled as he gave a friendly wave goodbye and took off in the direction towards the school gate.

Sarada was flabbergasted. She looked down at the last paper that she was grading. Quickly, she corrected the last few problems as she threw the paper on top of the finished pile. Gathering her things, she quickly ran to the classroom to drop off the papers as she rushed to the exit to go home for the day. She needed to talk to her mama. Pronto.

* * *

"You're home!" Sakura greeted as Sarada ran inside the house.

"Mama! Emergency! Inojin asked me out on a date. For tomorrow! What do I do? What do I wear?" Sarada exclaimed as the words came pouring out of her. Everything that she had been keeping inside was now spilling out like word vomit. "Should I go? What would the other kids think? Do I even care what they think? Do I dress up? But I don't want to look too excited! Oh, hi Papa. I didn't see you there."

Sasuke twitched as he got up from the sofa to walk over to his wife and daughter. "Inojin? Have I met him?"

"Ino brought him over once when he was a toddler. Sai and Ino's son," Sakura explained.

"Oh. That pretty boy in her group of friends?" Sasuke asked.

"Yes, that one. Don't worry Sarada. I'll find the perfect outfit for you!" Sakura said happily as she ran up the stairs to Sarada's room.

Sarada smiled as she nodded at her mama. She turned to follow after her mama but stopped when she felt a grip on her shoulder. Turning ever so slowly, she faced her papa as he stared down at her.

"Where is he taking you?" he asked.

"I-I don't know yet, Papa."

"Then after school… the two of you come here first to meet me before going anywhere else," he said sternly. He made sure that what he had just said was a demand and not a question. "You understand?"

"Yes Papa," Sarada gulped. Her papa was usually a very soft-spoken man and this was the first time she had seen him act so strict with her. She was beginning to think that the date would be a bad idea. For Inojin at least.

* * *

As the next day rolled by, the school day quickly came to an end and Sarada returned home with Inojin at her side. She didn't really tell Inojin why they were going to her house. She only said that she forgot something at home and needed to return. She wondered if she should have given him a warning about her papa. But then again, he was so good at speaking to adults and charming the pants off everyone around him. Sarada couldn't help but grin because she actually wanted to see Inojin break a little under the interrogation of her papa. Just because he had made her feel crazy the whole past week with that kiss of his. Oh gosh, if her papa knew about the kiss… Inojin might not be able to go home alive at all.

"I'm home. Inojin is here with me too," she called out as she walked through the door. She saw her papa standing in the middle of the living room and he motioned for her to go up to her room.

"Be right back, I'm going to go change out of my school clothes first. Feel free to chat with my papa," Sarada told Inojin. She smirked slightly as she ran up the stairs. She would peek later at the scene.

"Sarada's schoolmate?" Sasuke asked.

"Sir. It is nice to meet you. I am Yamanaka Inojin," Inojin introduced himself as he extended out a hand to greet the man.

Sasuke stared at the hand as he took out one hand to point towards the sofa. "Sit," he said instead of shaking the hand.

"Okay."

"So. You're planning on taking my daughter out on a "date"?" Sasuke questioned as he stood towering over the small boy sitting on the sofa.

"Yes, that is correct."

"What do you intend to do with my daughter?"

"Eat dinner at Ichiraku's and then take her straight home afterwards."

"No pit stops? Side alleyways?"

"N-no sir. Side alleyways?" he echoed.

Sasuke stared at him as he crouched down. "No dessert afterwards?"

"Uh, not unless she wants to get dessert."

Sasuke lowered his tone as he spoke. "What would you say if Sarada wants a kiss goodnight?"

Inojin blushed. "I-I don't know."

"That's not the answer. The answer is no. No kissing. No hand holding. No eyes wandering. Stay five feet apart at all times. Be within the public view at all times. And if you dare lay one finger on my daught—-"

"Sasuke-kun! What are you saying to the poor boy?!" Sakura rushed over as she pulled her husband away by the ear. She had just come home from work and had not expect to see guests in her home.

"I wasn't done talking to him!"

"Talking? You were practically scaring him off the edge of his seat!" Sakura exclaimed

"Then I did my job as a father," Sasuke remarked.

Sakura turned to Inojin as she smiled an apologetic smile at him. "Sorry, dear. Sarada's papa can get a little carried away sometimes. Don't worry about a thing he just told you. You and Sarada have a wonderful time on your date, okay? Here, take this as my treat for you two to get dessert tonight," Sakura said as she handed Inojin some money.

"Sarada! Come down! You don't want to spend your whole date upstairs in your room, do you?" Sakura called out to upstairs.

"Coming!" Sarada shouted as she hopped down the stairs. "Ready, Inojin?"

Inojin nodded faintly as he noticed that Sarada was now wearing a light yellow dress underneath a pink cardigan. He blushed ever so slightly as he said his goodbyes to Sarada's parents and hurried out the door with her.

"Wait!" Sasuke called out as he tried to go after the two kids.

Sakura held firmly on to Sasuke's wrist as she shook her head. "Oh no you don't. Don't scare away all our opportunities at becoming grandparents!"

All the color drained away from Sasuke's face as he heard the word 'grandparents'. "No!" he gasped sharply. He pulled away from Sakura's hold as he scrambled for the front door. Sakura pounced on him from behind as she hugged him tightly in an attempt to withhold him.

"Let them begin their young love!"

"I don't want to be a grandpa! They're only twelve!"

"Sarada's not stupid! She can take care of herself! Inojin is a nice boy! He's quite the gentleman!"

"If he was anything like I was, he would have not so gentlemen-ly thoughts!"

Sakura released her hold of Sasuke, who ended up tumbling to the ground, as she blinked her eyes in surprise. "Oh?" she asked as she smiled a little deviously. "And what thoughts _did_ you have?"

Sasuke turned around to face his wife and swallowed nervously as Sakura leaned her small body frame over his.

"Sasuke-kun," she purred. "Tell me exactly what thoughts went on your young teenage mind back then," she continued as she sat on top of Sasuke and not budging one inch from her spot. He groaned. How did the conversation turn from his daughter's dating to him?


	4. The Art of Apologizing

**The Art of Dating  
**by Diana-san

* * *

**04\. The Art of Apologizing**

Sarada and Inojin seated themselves down as they sat inside Ichiraku's. The smell of ramen filled the air as the coziness of the bar table kept Sarada and Inojin warm from the cold, brisk air outside.

"What will it be?" Teuchi asked as his daughter, Ayame, smiled from behind the counter.

"Two miso ramen please," Inojin ordered.

Sarada turned in surprise as she glanced at Inojin. "How did you know that was what I was going to order?" she asked.

"Boruto mentions how you always pick miso ramen whenever you eat with him. He says you are so boring because you never try the other flavors."

Sarada gives a small smile as she laughs quietly. "I guess I prefer consistency."

Soon, their orders were placed in front of them as Teuchi gave them two large bowls of miso ramen. Teuchi winked at Inojin as he had added extra meat in Sarada's bowl. Inojin smiled back as he began to dig in.

Sarada reached for her glasses as she took them off and placed them to the side of her bowl. Inojin watched in surprise as Sarada began to eat her ramen without her glasses on.

"You look different," he commented.

Sarada glanced up as her obsidian orbs caught Inojin's gaze on her. "Oh… yeah. I have to take off my glasses when I eat ramen. I hate when the lenses fog up from the steam." She squints at Inojin as her vision is slightly blurred from not having her glasses on.

He laughs as he watches her squinting at him. He tilts his head to the side and tells her to stop it. "You're ugly when you do that."

She frowns and stops squinting as she returns to her ramen bowl. "Whatever," she murmured as she continued to eat.

As they finished eating, Ayame hands Inojin the check and immediately, Sarada protests as she reaches to grab the check out of Inojin's hands. They fight for it for awhile but Inojin is slightly taller so he waves it away from Sarada's hands. He jumped off his seat as he reaches for his wallet to pay.

It was then that he heard the loud cracking sound underneath his shoes. Both of them glanced down at the direction of the sound. Sarada squints at the blurry object below Inojin's feet and could only gasp when he stepped off it. She could see that there was shards of glass on the ground and Sarada quickly reached towards the side of her ramen bowl as she tries to reach for her glasses to put on. Only they weren't there. Because they were on the ground. Crushed underneath Inojin's feet.

The glasses must have fell during the fight for the check and Inojin could only gape in shock at the broken pair of red-framed glasses at his feet. He bent down to pick up the frames which were now slightly bent in the center with the lenses half missing. "I'm sorry," he said in apology as he felt really bad about it.

Sarada sighed. "It's okay. I have a spare pair at home. Only it's not as pretty as this one."

"I'll fix it," he promises her. "I swear. Tomorrow morning, you'll have them back. Brand new!"

Sarada shook her head. "Don't worry about it. Like I said, I have a spare."

As Inojin paid for the meal, the two of them left Ichiraku's. He watches as Sarada stumbles a little as she exited the ramen shop. She was squinting around and her hands was placed slightly in front of her as if she was scared that she would fall or walk into something. Inojin stuffed the red frames into his pocket as he reached for Sarada's hand.

"I'll walk you home so you don't trip and fall into a ditch," he said as he held her hand. His fingers intertwined around Sarada's fingers and she glanced at their hands as if it was a foreign object.

"You don't have to," she protested but he didn't bother to listen as he pulled her along.

"You're going to take the whole night to get home if you have to stop and squint at every house to check if it is yours," he remarked.

Sarada muttered something incoherent but followed along. They walked home in silence and soon, they reached Sarada's house. "Thank you for tonight," Sarada murmured as she let go of his hand.

"Sorry about your glasses. I'll fix them," he apologizes again.

"Ah, sure," Sarada said as if not really believing him. She smiles a little as she waves goodbye before turning to stumble her way back to her front door.

* * *

Inojin walks into his own home as he greets his mother and father in the kitchen.

"Did you eat already?" Ino asked her son as she glances up from the flowers she was arranging on the kitchen table.

"Yes, I ate with Sarada."

Ino's ears perked up. "Sarada? Just the two of you? Boruto, ChouChou, Shikadai… they weren't there?"

"No, mother. We were on a date."

Ino accidentally snipped a stem as one of the flower heads fell and dropped to the table. "A d-date?!" she gasped. "Oh my god! Why didn't you tell me this sooner?!"

Inojin looked confused. "I didn't know I was supposed to."

Ino could barely contain her excitement. "So, how was it? What did you guys do? Where did you eat? Did you pay? You paid for her, right? Oh please, tell me you paid."

"Yes, mother. According to father's book, the one who extends the invitation to go eat should pay." Sai only smiles as he continues to sketch in his book while his wife and son continue their conversation.

Ino rolls her eyes. "I don't know why you learn from his books rather than your mother's own wisdom."

Inojin bit his lip. "But mother… I accidentally broke her glasses." He took out the red frames from his pocket as he showed it to his parents.

Ino took the pair of frames from Inojin's hands as she examines them. "Hmmm, I think I have a fix for this. Be right back," she says as she heads over to the kitchen phone to dial a number. "Shino? Ah, you're home. Good, can you help me fix a pair of glasses? I know how many you must have broken back in the days. Don't think you can fool me with your sunglasses. I can tell that you wear a different pair each week. What do you mean how can I tell? I have an eye for these things."

Inojin sits down at the kitchen table besides his father as he listens to his mother ramble on over the phone. "Sarada didn't seem super upset when I broke her glasses but I wonder if she is just hiding her feelings."

Sai smiles. "You know what would cheer her up? You should draw a picture for her."

"Is that what you always do for mother?"

Sai leans in close to his son as he whispers softly. "I draw your mother with a smile on her face and then I give it to her when she is mad and tell her that she is most beautiful when she is smiling. That always gets her to stop being mad at me."

Inojin gapes at his father. "You're smart."

Sai nods. "I read it in a book."

They heard a sound of a click as Ino hangs up the kitchen phone. "Okay, Inojin. Shino said he can fix it tomorrow morning before school starts. So you just get to school early and go find him."

Inojin nods as he takes the glasses back from his mother. "Oh and we should send some flowers to Sarada along with the glasses," Ino remarks as she hurries to her book of flowers. "Hm, what is a good way to say 'sorry but how about a second date?'"

* * *

The next day in school, true to his mother's words, Shino-sensei was able to fix Sarada's glasses. Inojin watched as Shino-sensei took out a big box and got to work on the red frames.

"How did you get new lenses?" he asks.

"I looked at Sarada's file so I know her prescription," Shino responded. He quickly bends the frames back in place as he unscrews around the sides to pop new lenses back in. Inojin only watches in amazement as Shino completes the job in ten minutes.

"Here you go," Shino says as he hands it back to Inojin.

"Thank you," he murmurs as he takes the glasses. They looked almost brand new.

* * *

Sarada enters the schoolyard and notices Inojin waiting at the entrance for her. He runs over with a package in hand and hands it to her. It was only then that he stops and stares at her. He laughs loudly but covers his mouth quickly in an attempt to cover his surprised laugh.

"I know. They look ridiculous," she mutters as she adjusts the black frames on her face. She hated her old pair of glasses since they made her look like a grandma. But she had no choice since her newer pair was broken.

Inojin snickers a little as he calms down before placing the package in Sarada's hand. "I fix them. Like I promised," he said.

Sarada glanced at the package in her hand with a surprised look. She hadn't believed his words when he had said that he would fix it by the morning. She was still skeptical nonetheless so she slowly unraveled the string that held together the wrapping paper. She opened it up to see her red frames sitting inside the package. The lenses were no longer broken and looked to be newly polished.

"How did you—-?" she began to ask.

"I have my ways," he answered with a smile.

She picked up the red pair of glasses as she fingered the smooth texture of the rims. Before she could change her glasses, she felt a pair of hands near her face. She looked up as she saw Inojin slowly removing the black pair of glasses from her face. He took the red pair from her hands as he slowly placed them on her face. She could feel a red blush creeping through her skin as she sat still in astonishment.

"Much better," he murmurs quietly as he smiles at her.

Sarada glances down at the wrapping paper and notices that there was a drawing inside. It was a drawing of her. The picture was her smiling with a new pair of red glasses on her face. In the picture, her hair was tucked back behind her ear with a flower. Sarada could now feel the blush on her face intensifying as she continued staring at the drawing.

"Oh, and last thing," Inojin murmurs again as he takes out a pink gerbera daisy. Gently, he pushes the bangs from Sarada's face as he tucks the flower behind her ear. "The gift of cheer. Hoping you will stay cheerful today with thoughts of me."

* * *

"Do you see that Sakura? That's our babies!" Ino squealed as she stood beside her best friend at the school entrance. They were quite a distance away from Sarada and Inojin, who seemed to be lost in their own world.

Sakura clasped her hands together in excitement. "Oh my god! He is putting a flower in her hair!"

"I told him to get her white tulips to apologize but this might be just as adorable," Ino squealed some more.

Ino grabbed Sakura's hands as the two of them jumped up and down in unison. "We're going to be in-laws!"

Sai only smiled nervously as he glanced over at Sasuke. The man stood there silently as if stewing in anger. Sasuke glanced up from the ground as he shot a murderous glare across the schoolyard. Sai shivered in slight fear as he felt the dark intent surround the area.

"Don't touch a single hair on my daughter," Sasuke muttered. "AND YET YOU'RE TOUCHING HER WHOLE HEAD!"

It took all three of them to hold back Sasuke from killing young Inojin that day as Sakura hugged Sasuke from behind with Ino and Sai each pulling on one of Sasuke's arms.


	5. The Art of Sleeping

**The Art of Dating  
by Diana-san**

* * *

**05\. The Art of Sleeping**

"I'm only here because Mama and Papa are out on missions this week," Sarada said as she placed her tote bag of things on the floor besides the bed.

"And I'm only giving up my bed because my mother made me since I'm supposed to be a gentleman about it," Inojin replied.

"Papa didn't even want to let me stay here since he doesn't trust you. But no one else was able to take me in."

"Well our mothers are best friends so we are probably the top of the list."

"I guess so, next to Boruto's parents."

"They have enough to worry about with Boruto to take care of."

Sarada laugh as she sat down on Inojin's bed. "So since I kicked you out of your room…where would you be sleeping?"

"I guess we can snuggle."

Sarada stared at him with a blank face as she raised an eyebrow. "No, really. Where?"

"The couch in the living room."

"Sorry about the inconvenience," Sarada apologized.

"No worries. You'll make my bed smell like roses," Inojin said with a smile.

"Oh, like it doesn't already?" Sarada commented as she curled her lips up in a teasing smile.

Inojin laughed. "Just because I help out at the flower shop, does not mean I smell like flowers."

Sarada glanced away as a shy blush emerged from her cheeks. "I don't know about that…" she murmured.

"Do you smell me often?" he teased.

Sarada gave a small grunt as she folded her arms. "That's ridiculous!" she insisted. But it wasn't. She did accidentally inhale his scent once when the two were paired up in a training exercise. He was shielding the two of them behind a tree and because of the close proximity, Sarada couldn't help but noticing that he smelled like a garden of fresh cut flowers. It wasn't overbearing in the way that there was a strong floral smell but there was a hint of flowers along with fresh cut grass or pine trees. Sarada couldn't exactly pinpoint the description of the scent. It was just intoxicating to her. That he smelled this good.

It was something she never noticed before in guys. Training her senses was never a top priority to her but ever since that day, she had been well aware of what the guys in her class had begun to smell like. Boruto was always smelling like mud or paint probably because he was dabbling in less than innocent activities. Shikadai was similar to Inojin with the smell of grass but unfortunately, Sarada assumed that Shikadai had been lying about in grass all day and had turn that fresh cut scent into a more musty scent. She didn't even want to think about what Lee Jr. smelled like since it was definitely the stench of sweat. 500 push-ups was not an ideal scent.

Sarada sighed. She was beginning to wonder if she should have sided along with her papa and argued against her mama that she was a big enough girl to stay home alone. Then she wouldn't be in this situation of spending two nights at Inojin's home.

It was going to be super awkward. They weren't exactly dating per se, but she wasn't sure what to categorize her relationship with Inojin as. He did seemingly admit that he liked her. She did somehow seemingly develop some sort of feelings for Inojin that was more than what just friends should have for each other. But she had to bite her tongue because what if he was only being friendly? If anything, Inojin was quite popular in her school and she couldn't help but feel that he could just be stringing her along.

"What are you thinking about?" Inojin asked softly as he gazed into Sarada's eyes.

The sound of his voice broke through Sarada's thoughts as she realized that she had been staring off into the distance for the past five minutes.

"N-nothing," she muttered as she got up to fumble through her tote bag and search through it as a pretense that she was busy.

"Okay, if you need anything, you can ask me. Mother and father already went to bed."

Sarada nodded. "Thanks."

As he left the room and Sarada had gotten ready for bed, she couldn't help but feel discomfort lying in Inojin's bed. Maybe it was her conscience or something, but she got up and peeked downstairs to see if Inojin was awake or not.

He was sitting on the couch with an sketchbook propped up against his knees as he sketched underneath the light of the single lamp on the side table besides the couch.

She walked down the steps slowly as she tried not to make a sound to disturb him. It didn't work when the last step of the stairs creaked underneath her weight. She froze as she wondered if he could have possibly heard that. Inojin turned around slowly and looked surprised when he saw her by the stairway,

"You're not asleep?" he asked.

"No.. I couldn't sleep," she said as she held tightly against the railing of the stairway.

"Uncomfortable sleeping in a new place?" he asked.

Sarada shrugged. It wasn't more of the new place but rather of whose place it was. "I guess," she murmured.

"Join me?" he asked with a smile as he beckoned over to her to come over and sit beside him on the couch.

Sarada hesitated for a moment but slowly walked forward as she sat down on the seat beside him. "What are you drawing?" she asked him.

"Just a little bit of my day today," he answered.

Sarada peered over his sketchbook. There was a drawing of a female figure but the face was left blank. It could be anyone. "Oh, drawing your girlfriend or something?" she asked with a bit of disappointment resonating in the tone of her voice.

"I wish," he murmured as he continued to fill in the drawing by adding details to the outfit and hair.

As Sarada watched, the figure on the paper slowly transformed into a familiar person. She didn't want to question it so she said nothing as she continued to stare at the sketchbook.

"Why are you leaving the face blank?" she asked, almost in an accusing tone as she scrunched up her eyebrows and pulled her knees closer to her.

"I don't know what kind of expression I want to give her. She has such beautiful eyes but they're usually hidden behind glasses," Inojin answered.

The silence that followed after his words left her heart thumping loudly against her chest as she tried not to inhale too sharply. She couldn't say anything but she just clutched tighter to the blanket that was draped over her legs. Despite the silence of the night, she felt like there were sounds of a thousand men yelling in her ears. It was deafening.

"Y-you should…" she started to say but her voice faltered when she couldn't think of what was to follow after the first two words.

"You should go to sleep," Inojin finished in reply as he closed the sketchbook and placed it down on the table besides the lamp.

Sarada nodded and she pulled back the blanket as she tried to get up from the couch.

"Do you want to stay down here?" he asked.

She looked back at him and wasn't sure if he was teasing her again. But his face was completely serious as he asked that question. She slowly nodded but her body continued to get up on its own. After all, she couldn't possibly stay down in the living room alone with him. Her papa would freak out if he knew.

"You can take one end of the couch and I'll take the other end," he said. "That is, if you want the company."

She did. She didn't want to sleep alone up in his room. As she sat back down on the couch, Inojin got up to tuck the blanket over her as she laid down on one end of the couch. She smiled as she took off her glasses to place it down on the table besides the couch.

Inojin looked taken aback as he stared briefly at her but he glanced away as he walked over to the other end of the couch and crawled underneath the blanket. With good nights being said on both ends, he reached over to turn off the lamp and soon the entire living room was shrouded in darkness.

Sarada smiled as she snuggled underneath the blanket. Her feet was just barely touching against Inojin's feet and she blushed a little at the thought of it. As she counted to one hundred in her head, she tried to think of something else besides Inojin's presence that was five feet away from her. Before long, she had fallen deep into slumber and dreams of a boy that smelled like flowers and fresh grass.


End file.
